ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The University of Chicago volleyball team began day one of the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship with a 3-2 win over Carnegie Mellon University before dropping a 3-0 decision to Emory University on Friday.

The No. 22-ranked Maroons ran their record to 20-11. The No. 21-ranked Tartans fell to 25-7 and the No. 1-ranked Eagles improved to 32-2.

UChicago, the No. 5 seed in the UAA, will next face No. 3-seed Case Western Reserve University in the third-place match on Saturday. Top-seeded Emory and No. 2-seed Washington University-St. Louis will play each other in the championship match.

UChicago 3, Carnegie Mellon 2 (20-25, 25-13, 25-19, 21-25, 15-12)

UChicago's first challenger of the day was No. 4-seed Carnegie Mellon, who defeated the Maroons in their previous matchup 3-1 on Oct. 17.

The Tartans got off to a good start by hitting .323 in the opening set and opening up an 11-4 lead they would not relinquish. After dropping the first set 25-20, UChicago answered by hitting .444 in the second set and utilizing a 10-2 run to even the match, 25-13.

The third set was close throughout. UChicago held a narrow 18-17 advantage, but three-straight kills by senior outside hitter Maren Loe sent the Maroons on to a 25-21 win of the set. The roles were reversed in the fourth set, when CMU went up 20-19 and pulled away to tie the match again, 25-21.

A tense fifth set ensued and the two teams were knotted at 12-12. However, a kill by senior outside hitter Jasmine Mobley and two consecutive blocks by the defense gave the Maroons the match, 15-12.

UChicago hit .195 in the match (59 kills, 27 errors, 164 attempts). The team totaled five aces, 11 blocks and 84 digs. Junior Erin Risk stepped into the setters role and racked up career highs of 38 assists and 18 digs. Loe contributed well on both offense and defense, posting 18 kills, 16 digs and five blocks at the net. Junior middle blocker Katie LaPorte was a defensive force in the middle with six blocks to go with nine kills. Junior libero Mary Claire Tuohy finished with a team-high 19 digs.

Carnegie Mellon hit .156 (54-27-173) with four aces, eight blocks and 73 digs.

UChicago Stat Leaders
Maren Loe (Sr.) – 18 kills, 16 digs, 6 assists, 5 blocks
Audrey Scrafford (Fr.) – 14 kills, 3 digs
Jasmine Mobley (Sr.) – 13 kills
Katie LaPorte (Jr.) – 9 kills, 6 blocks
Erin Risk (Jr.) – 38 assists, 18 digs
Mary Claire Tuohy (Jr.) – 19 digs

Emory 3, UChicago 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-17)

Emory came into the weekend as the No. 1 seed with a perfect 7-0 mark in the UAA. The Eagles showed how they earned that top seeding with a sweep of the Maroons. Emory pulled away in the middle of all three sets.

UChicago struggled offensively and were limited to a .098 hitting percentage (25-15-103). The Maroons committed seven service errors to go with three blocks and 39 digs. Loe's nine kills led the offense. Risk tallied up 21 assists and Tuohy recorded 17 digs.

Emory was an efficient .388 (46-8-98) on offense while also committing eight service errors. The Eagles added three blocks and 60 digs.

UChicago Stat Leaders
Maren Loe (Sr.) – 9 kills, 8 digs
Erin Risk (Jr.) – 21 assists, 4 digs
Mary Claire Tuohy (Jr.) – 17 digs

NEXT MATCH:

• Saturday, November 7 – UChicago vs. Case Western Reserve University (Rochester, N.Y.), 10 AM (ET)